Crosswalk.com aims to offer the most compelling biblically-based content to Christians on their walk with Jesus. Crosswalk.com is your online destination for all areas of Christian Living – faith, family, fun, and community. Each category is further divided into areas important to you and your Christian faith including Bible study, daily devotions, marriage, parenting, movie reviews, music, news, and more.

Experiencing LIFE Today - February 13, 2015

2015Feb 13

COMMENTS

Have I told you lately that I love you? Have I told you there’s no one else above you? – Rod Stewart, “Have I Told You Lately”

I have one question that – if asked every morning and lived out every day – could cause the most stagnant marriages to grow again. Let’s rearrange the song lyrics above and instead ask ourselves: Have I shown you lately that I love you?

When you open your eyes in the morning and see the person beside you, ask yourself: Did I demonstrate love to her yesterday? Did I invite the Holy Spirit to love him through me yesterday?

Doing this invites us to live out a daily demonstration of love. It’s not perfect, mind you; but it’s purposeful, and our marriages will reap the benefits.

Let me share a small exercise to go along with this question. You can start this today and anticipate the changes over the next week.

So this word patient means to love with a loooooong fuse. How is your fuse today? Do you have a longer or shorter fuse than you did when you got married?

The Greek root for kindness in this text means “useful.”

How useful are you in love? Are you eager to make life easier, or do you begrudge any effort that is inconvenient or time-consuming?

Here’s the challenge: You can change your marriage this week by picking one of these two words, long-fused or useful.

Don’t tell your spouse which word you picked. Instead, pray the Spirit would demonstrate love through you this week in accordance with the word you chose.

Every morning, for the next seven mornings, awake with the question: Did Jesus demonstrate love [patience or kindness] through me to my spouse yesterday in a way that was useful?

Why? Because nothing wakes a dormant marriage like a demonstration of love – true love – that flows from God, through us, to another.

God, it is entirely possible that I’ve wrapped my love in words only. Perhaps showing love hasn’t even been on my radar. Thank You for teaching me that the best way to grow in marriage is to show love. As I choose my word above, I pray Your strength will fill me so that, together, we can love my spouse well this week. Today, and every day, show me specific ways You want to love through me. Amen.

Discover the truth about our sexuality. Stuart, Jill, and Pete’s Sexual by Design series tackles head-on some of the most pressing sexual issues our culture faces today and helps you talk more openly about God’s design for us as sexual beings. So be sure to request yours today!